REUTERS/Gene Blevins
A wildfire that flared up in 30 mph winds on Thursday burned a 10-mile path to the Pacific by Friday, Shaya Tayefe Mohajer and Christopher Webert of The Associated Press report.
By the time it reached the coast late Thursday night, the blaze had burned about 8,000 acres — or 12½ square miles — and was only 10% contained by more than 900 firefighters and deputies.
The flames forced thousands of people from hundreds of homes and torched motorhomes. Furthermore, a store of highly toxic pesticides caught fire, making the making air quality very poor throughout the area.
"We know the fire is continuing to grow," Ventura County fire Capt. Bill Nash told AP at about 6 a.m. Friday (EDT), adding that firefighters won't know how much until they check by helicopter during daylight.
The leading edge of the blaze is about 20 miles from Malibu.
Some 2,000 homes are threatened but none have been destroyed (besides the RVs).
(Note: Two homes and 11 vehicles were destroyed in a 12-acre fire in Riverside County, Calif., that fire officials suspect was ignited by a discarded cigarette.)
No injuries have been reported.
The fire began during Thursday morning about 50 miles northwest of Los Angeles morning along U.S. 101.
REUTERS/Gene Blevins
A firefighter sprays water on a burning motorhome as a raging brush fire pushes towards the coast in Camarillo,
REUTERS/Gene Blevins
The Springs Fire burns an agricultural storage area near Camarillo, California.
REUTERS/Gene Blevins
A fast moving brush fire approaches a home in the Camarillo Springs area of Ventura County, California.
REUTERS/Gene Blevins
Photographers take pictures of The Springs Fire near Camarillo in Ventura County.
REUTERS/Gene Blevins
Firefighters work as a raging brush fire pushes towards the coast in Camarillo.
REUTERS/Gene Blevins
A resident pulls a hose line to attempt to stop flames from spreading down the hillside as The Springs Fire pushes towards the coast near Camarillo, California.
REUTERS/Gene Blevins
A firefighter works as a raging wildfire pushing towards the coast destroys trailers and motorhomes in Camarillo.
REUTERS/Gene Blevins
A trailer is engulfed in flames as a raging wildfire pushes towards the coast in Camarillo.
REUTERS/Patrick T. Fallon
Firefighters battle to protect a CalTrans Maintenance Station and Fuel Depot from the Springs Fire near Pacific Coast Highway and the Los Angeles County Line at Malibu, California.
REUTERS/Gene Blevins
A motorhome destroyed by a raging brush fire pushing towards the coast in Camarillo.